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[fiona]

Is this true?

http://chronicle.com/article/Women-Value-Higher-Education/128713/?sid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en

If families can send only one child to college, would they choose the girl over the boy?

The Fiona

[spork]

Yes.

Yes, because daughters are more likely to financially assist elderly parents.

[prytania3]

I would send the one to college who had the most practical major.

[gekko]

I don't know the stats but if I had to guess, I'd say that the fields in which compensation and/or performance are objectively evaluated tend to be populated by men. (Sales, business ownership, athletics, etc.) For these fields level of education is less important or unimportant. If one wishes to achieve financial success, income needs to be earned in this way, which leads to a natural disinterest in higher education by those whose career goals rest on results rather than certification and box checking.

I would imagine most men value an unlimited upside while women value a limited downside. (Potential for gain vs security.) If you value security, you're naturally going to gravitate toward credentials that allow you to "check the box" for a pulse = paycheck position later in life. If nothing else, you can at least get certified with an MRS degree in a fluf subject.

I'm not saying there aren't a lot of men out there who are total pikers. (Generally trust funders or sons of helicopter parents.) In general though, I don't view the desire for security as a masculine trait. Since a degree usually allows someone to "get a job" by pleasing someone else rater than go out and make it happen on your own, no surprise here.

[hoptoad]

I'd send the one who would be more likely to finish.

But it doesn't surprise me that women value higher education more.  It's still a male-dominated society, unfortunately, so I think men are more likely to succeed with or without a degree, whereas a degree helps women break some barriers.

[canuckois]

I'm not saying there aren't a lot of men out there who are total pikers. (Generally trust funders or sons of helicopter parents.) In general though, I don't view the desire for security as a masculine trait. Since a degree usually allows someone to "get a job" by pleasing someone else rater than go out and make it happen on your own, no surprise here.

So....women are more likely to earn a degree because they want to please people, but men, being strong and independent and natural go-getters, are less likely to value education.

I assume there's no data to back this up, since, you know,

I don't know the stats

but gosh, don't let that stop you from spouting sheer unadulterated drivel.

P.S. - Seriously, what the hell is with you and these imaginary people with trust funds?  What did they ever do to you?

[fiona]

African Americans used to send girls to college rather than boys because that way girls could be teachers and not be at risk for sexual exploitation all the time, as they would if they were domestic servants.

In some HBCUs today, women students still outnumber men by a huge ratio.

The Fiona

[spork]

I don't know the stats but if I had to guess, I'd say that the fields in which compensation and/or performance are objectively evaluated tend to be populated by men. (Sales, business ownership, athletics, etc.) For these fields level of education is less important or unimportant. If one wishes to achieve financial success, income needs to be earned in this way, which leads to a natural disinterest in higher education by those whose career goals rest on results rather than certification and box checking.

I would imagine most men value an unlimited upside while women value a limited downside. (Potential for gain vs security.) If you value security, you're naturally going to gravitate toward credentials that allow you to "check the box" for a pulse = paycheck position later in life. If nothing else, you can at least get certified with an MRS degree in a fluf subject.

I'm not saying there aren't a lot of men out there who are total pikers. (Generally trust funders or sons of helicopter parents.) In general though, I don't view the desire for security as a masculine trait. Since a degree usually allows someone to "get a job" by pleasing someone else rater than go out and make it happen on your own, no surprise here.

There is so much wrong here that I don't know where to start.

[eulerian_ta]

Is this really a surprise when single, childless women have a higher per capita income than their male counterparts?  Of course a demographic group that has had a better return on investment from higher education is going to value it more.   

[zharkov]

1. Men Smart, Women Smarter

2.  Thinking back to when I taught freshman, and very generally speaking, the women seem more mature, were more serious students.  A disturbing number of the men were "Peter Pan-ish." 

[jonesey]

In some HBCUs   most colleges and universities today, women students still outnumber men by a huge ratio.

[kaysixteen]

Certainly college is becoming more and more a female-dominated pursuit... there are likely many reasons for this... anyone want to speculate on them, try to get a handle on it?  What certainly is true, moreover, is that, like it or not, a college degree is simply more important in the US today than ever before, so if kids, men or women, aren't going there, tke k-12 ed system has to do a better job preparing them in other ways, to become economically successful...

[janewales]

In some HBCUs   most colleges and universities today, women students still outnumber men by a huge ratio.

My own campus (large, urban, research-oriented) is 54% women, 46% men at the undergrad level, and 55% women, 45% men at the grad level. Across Canada, it's 58% women at the undergrad level, and 53% at the grad level.

[jonesey]

In some HBCUs   most colleges and universities today, women students still outnumber men by a huge ratio.

My own campus (large, urban, research-oriented) is 54% women, 46% men at the undergrad level, and 55% women, 45% men at the grad level. Across Canada, it's 58% women at the undergrad level, and 53% at the grad level.

It's similar in the US, with more women graduating from medical and law schools as well.

[fiona]

In my area, the male-dominated schools are the culinary schools.

Don't know what this means.

The Fiona